Struggling at the 2024 Olympics, Joel Embiid found his rhythm on Thursday against Serbia, scoring 19 points, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out two assists, and blocking a shot in Team USA’s thrilling 95-91 comeback win. But facing France in the gold-medal game might be a different story.
France has some tough big men like Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert. Even though Embiid has only played once against Wembanyama, he scored an incredible 70 points in that game. Against Gobert, he’s consistently strong with an average of 28.4 points and 11.4 rebounds over ten games.
JOEL EMBIID THROWS IT DOWN WITH AUTHORITY.
USA Network and Peacock | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/pUon7sfXWU
โ NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024
Embiid vs. France:
France’s lineup is led by Wembanyama and Gobert. When Embiid faced Wembanyama for the first time in January, he had a career-high performance with 70 points and 18 rebounds in a Sixers win over the Spurs. Against Gobert, heโs always been dominant: averaging a double-double with impressive stats.
Fans might think this matchup will be intense given their history.
In another twist for France, Embiid has used past comments as fuel to dominate Gobert. He once dropped 40 points and grabbed 19 rebounds after being told he was scared of Gobert during the 2020-21 season.
Wembanyama hasn’t carried his team but still made an impact with solid performances like his recent game against Germany where he posted good numbers to help secure their spot in the final.
Gobert’s role has been shrinking lately due to either finger surgery or just not playing well enough. He only got five minutes on court against Germany last Thursday.
France coach Vincent Collet said Rudy Gobert did not undergo surgery on injured finger before win over Canada and lineup changes were based on matchups
โ Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 6, 2024
Meanwhile, Embiid seems to be peaking at just the right moment . After Thursdayโs performance, he looked more driven than ever despite boos from French fans ahead of Saturdayโs finalโa sign that could spell trouble for France.
Joel Embiid was the last guy from Team USA to leave the court; egged on the entire French crowd into loudly booing him then did the โsuck itโ motion over and over lol pic.twitter.com/XFdNCoeIn6
โ Grant Marek (@Grant_Marek) August 8, 2024
What do you think? Can Embiid lead Team USA to victory?
